2024 Review: Outstaffing in Ukraine and the world

Ukraine has persisted to maintain its dominant position as one of the global outstaffing and outsourcing of IT services centers, and the year 2024 is expected to be particularly influential in this industry. The tech-oriented economy of Ukraine is mostly sustained by the vast number of well-educated engineers, reasonable prices for labor, and growing experience in providing software services to the global market. While other industries have been affected due to the changes in geopolitics, the requirement for Ukrainian tech talent has significantly increased, prompting the need to examine how this sphere has been changing.

This table shows that the top ranking of popular programming languages in three different countries does not differ too much. But the demanded languages and platforms are not the same either. This is mainly due to different specialization areas in these countries. For example, the US developers are mostly focused on artificial intelligence and financial technologies. Polish devs, on the other hand, do specialize in game development and building web and mobile applications. The Ukrainian IT pool is mostly focused on outstaffing, cybersecurity and health technologies.

Due to a number of triggers, such as local economic conditions, skill shortages, and cost of living, software developers' salaries vary greatly between nations. Because living expenses are generally higher in high-wage countries like the US, salaries must rise in order to draw and keep skilled workers. These areas see a lot of competition among businesses for the best developers, which drives up wages for both junior and senior roles. Additionally, the presence of major tech hubs, such as Silicon Valley, fosters a competitive environment where salaries can skyrocket based on demand for cutting-edge skills.

These are just a few of the factors that cause software developers' pay to differ significantly worldwide. Salary increases are necessary to attract and keep skilled workers in countries with high salaries like the US, as prices for a comfortable life tend to be higher here. Due to intense competition between companies in these areas for the best developers, salaries for both junior and senior roles are rising. Furthermore, the existence of significant tech hubs like Silicon Valley creates a competitive environment where the demand for cutting-edge skills can cause salaries to rise insanely quickly.

In 2024, the Ukrainian IT outstaffing market already shows outstanding steadiness in the face of what is happening with the Russian invasion; quite the opposite — it has managed to survive and prove how remarkably flexible and sturdy it is. Ukrainian IT companies have been keeping up with their obligations to clients and acquiring new contracts which further solidifies their positions as reliable partners for businesses worldwide. According to reports, there was a 13% surge in the volume of IT services in the first nine months of 2022, against the previous year, amounting to $5.5 billion and now IT services account for 45% of the country's total service exports.

The industry utilized its strengths by having a well-educated workforce. Many Ukrainian engineers specialize in Java, Python, C#, and JavaScript as well as other languages. More than 100 R&D centers in Ukraine are run by multinationals such as Microsoft, Oracle, and others; about 20% of the Fortune 500 companies have their development teams based in Ukraine. The continual demand for IT services, especially in cutting-edge technology such as AI, blockchain, and IoT, along with cultural compatibility with Western businesses, cements Ukraine as a favorite outsourcing destination.

Moreover, the Ukrainian startup ecosystem is very lively and attractive. All of this is happening amid war. In 2023, Ukrainian startups raised $209 million. This showed robust interest in sectors such as EdTech and military technology, which have emerged as rapidly developing ones​. The Ukrainian IT outstaffing market, on a general note, seems to be a critical sector in the national economy, proving its resilience and prospects for growth throughout 2024.